Scooby Doo: Monsters and Mysteries
by shdowstep
Summary: A different beginning, a different threat. Regardless of our past, we always end up together. Dr. Dinkley and dog-trainer Rogers see an opportunity to protect the dogs that are her project. Investigative Journalists Daphne Blake and Fred Jones see an event that needs to be looked into. In the end, both sides will need to work together to solve these mysteries.
1. A New Beginning - Part 1

**_Unknown Parking Lot_**

_The parking lot was empty save for a couple of cars - the sounds of the night setting a pleasant ambiance throughout the area, at odds with the discussion taking place. _

_A dark figure wearing a suspicious looking trenchcoat, gloves, and hat, looked at a USB in his hand, as well as a vial of liquid in a briefcase that had been handed to him by a nervous looking man._

_"So" the man stated. "This is what you want us to plant, Mr. McLemore?"_

_Bill resisted a flinch, and narrowed his eyes at the man. "Yeah, that's the stuff. It should be a simple thing - just dump the stuff in the water supply of some place out in the wilderness, and the liquid will affect the animals. They'll find the stuff, and it'll be linked back to Eric's project. He'll be thrown into jail, and I'll be able to step up and take his place." he finished with a grin._

_The other man looked at him casually. "You realize, of course" he stated "That there are a few more steps than just that?"_

_Bill flushed angrily, glaring at the other "Of course I know! I have everything prepared on my end to make sure it happens" he muttered. "I'm not an idiot."_

_The figure nodded thoughtfully, his black mask preventing Bill from seeing his smirk. "And what if a human were to become infected, if I may ask?" He asked slowly._

_Bill narrowed his eyes at the man once more, looking at him suspiciously. "Part of the deal is that you DON'T get any humans infected" he growled. "I might want Eric gone, but I don't want anybody else to get hurt over this!"_

_The figure raised his hands in surrender, "Relax my friend, I merely ask just in case. One can't be too careful, wouldn't you agree?"_

_Bill relaxed a little bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right" he admitted reluctantly. "Well..."_

_A few minutes later both the figure and Bill separated, going into their respective cars. _

_ Once inside, the man looked at the briefcase again and smirked victoriously while carefully taking off the mask he wore. "Oh Bill, you idiot" he said to himself. "You truly have no idea the value of that which you've given me, hehehe."_

* * *

**The Agency**

The sound of footsteps echoed down the empty hallway as two men were escorted by a third.

The two being escorted were generals, in full military uniform. One was a tall, broad shouldered man, with a military cut gray hair. The other was shorter and weighed more, with short brown hair. Both walked in sync behind the third man. The man escorting them wore a lab coat, wild white hair and glasses.

They had already gone through two checkpoints as they walked through the underground facility, eventually making their way to a large room filled with computers and several scientists. The walls were filled with whiteboards containing notes and formulae that neither of the generals could understand. The guide nodded his head towards one of the scientists.

"Dr. Dinkley!"

"Yes Professor Kaufman?" A woman replied, her tone completely neutral as she turned and looked at the men. She was shorter than both of the men, with chin length auburn hair and square glasses.

The Professor extended his hand to each of the men. "These men are here to view the results of some of our experiments" he replied coolly. "This is General Niedermeyer" The tall, gray haired man nodded stiffly. "And this" he said, gesturing to the more heavyset general "is General Wimbley." The man tipped his hat slightly.

"I would like you to take them to view Project Elevation, as well as their trainer. I will send Dr. Mondavarious over to take over after you are finished." He stated, already moving over to his own office. "I apologize gentlemen" he stated to the generals, "But seeing as how your visit was scheduled last minute, I am afraid that I was unable to clear my schedule. Please, feel free to ask Dr. Velma Dinkley any questions you might have. I have utter faith in her capabilities." And with that, he closed the door.

Velma motioned for them to follow her, and walked out of the room through a different hallway. As they were walking, she started talking. "To give a brief history, Project Elevation started several years ago with the concept of bolstering the armed forces with a different type of combatant" she stated. "The Agency of course has numerous labs, each specializing in a different field. While we have another lab working on creating and improving robotics and designs, led by Dr. Jenkins, I was given a slightly different tasking."

And with that, they came to a door. After swiping it with her badge, they walked in.

The two generals looked around the large lab, immediately noting a windowed wall. Walking over to it, Velma gestured inside.

"Instead of working on developing AI" she stated. "I was tasked with increasing the usage and viability of animals in the field."

Both of the general's eyes went wide. Inside the area was an area not dissimilar to that of a zoo. And inside, there could be seen three Great Danes and one puppy. One of the Great Danes and the puppy were both brown in color with black spots, one was white with black spots, and the last was a pure white female. All of them wore some type of cyber ware on their heads which brought up holographic screens in front of their eyes, looking for all the world like glasses.

While odd, what had the generals actually surprised was watching as the two brown haired dogs play some kind of card game, gambling with dog treats, while the female dog browsed through a magazine. The last dog remained sleeping in the corner.

"These dogs are the result of several experiments, the goal of which was to advance the neurological pathways found within the left prefrontal lobe, the left temporal cortex, and the left parietal cortex." Velma continued smoothly. "Later experiments have included more stimulations of the 'Brocas Area', which has led to a further increase in language capabilities"

For the first time that evening, General Wimbley spoke up, "Alright, so what's up with the weird glasses they all have on them?" he asked, eyes narrowed at the strange contraptions.

Velma nodded at the question "During the early phases of the experiment, we needed a way to help gauge how much the dogs actually understood. Those devices connect directly to their thoughts, and help them communicate with us." She brought up a tablet and brought up some schematics, showing the device. "Ever since the dogs gained a certain level of intelligence and communication, we added a function within the device to project a hologram screen in front of their eyes that provide a function similar to Smart Glasses, allowing them various means of entertainment."

At this, both generals looked at Velma disbelievingly, "You gave the dogs Smart Glasses?" General Neidermeyer asked.

Velma collapsed the schematic on the tablet and looked at them calmly. "We increased their intelligence to that of a human." She stated calmly. "Without means of entertainment, they'd probably go crazy." They looked like they were about to say something, but she quickly headed them off, "The device does not connect to the internet, and simply provides them access to a secure database that we provide." She collapsed the schematic on her tablet and brought up a list to show them. "With this connection, they have access to books and games to keep themselves occupied." She adjusted her glasses after that, though the generals continued to look skeptical.

All of a sudden, the door slammed open and another man ran in.

"Yo! Dr. Velms! I heard that we had some bigshots coming in and wanted to quickly, uh..." The person slowed down and went pale when both men turned around and stared at him. Velma's face remained impassive, though inwardly she was cringing.

The new man was very different from the usual people the generals had seen thus far. Instead of the professional lab coat that they were accustomed to seeing, this guy had a green t-shirt and brown pants. His hair was unkempt, and he wore a goatee.

After a couple seconds of silence, the man yelped "Zoinks!" and stood at attention. "Trainer Rogers, here to, like, inspect the dogs sirs."

Velma gave quick mental sigh, before speaking up. "This is Trainer Rogers. He was hired by us to assist in the training of the dogs."

"Their training?" General Wimbley asked in his rough voice, "Why would you need a dog trainer if you're increasing their intelligence?"

Velma shrugged. "We gave them the capability to understand" she stated. "They still had to learn everything on their own. Mr. Rogers here" she nodded towards the man still standing at attention, "Is not only capable of training dogs, but teaching kids as well. That made him a logical choice."

"Yeah, Mr. General sir" the man said, chuckling nervously. "And they've all made, like, a lot of improvement compared to when they first started sir! Did you, uh, want to meet them?" He asked hesitantly.

After a brief pause, the older general gave a quick nod, and the trainer quickly leapt forward and swiped his badge, opening the door.

Once the door opened, all of the dogs immediately perked up, and the puppy jumped forward. "Finally! That took forever Uncle Shaggy! So what'd you bring to eat?" He asked eagerly, ignoring Shaggy's desperate arm waves. He fell silent however once the Generals stepped in, and the other dogs stood up with the exception of the white and black spotted dog, who just opened his eyes.

"So!" Shaggy said with forced cheer, "Here we have the dogs. This little rascal," He pet the puppy, who immediately growled and resisted being pet, "is Scrappy. Over there," pointing at the female dog, who joined the rest of them with a smile, "is Dee. Over here," He quickly sped over to the dog that was laying down and forced him up, "This is Dumm. And then lastly" he said in a fond tone, "Is Scooby Doo." His smile and posture slowly going more relaxed as he talked about the dogs.

Each of the dogs slowly walked over till they stood in front of Shaggy, carefully staring at the new people.

After a few seconds of observation General Neidermeyer spoke up "What are their current capabilities beyond that which regular dogs can do?" he asked.

Before Shaggy could say anything, Scrappy spoke up in an enraged tone, "What! Oh c'mon, how can you compare us with regular dogs? It's obvious that we're way better, especially Uncle Scooby! Just give us a test, any test at all, and I know that he'll UMPH!" He was suddenly cut off as Scooby quickly pushed him down, giving a nervous smile at the Generals.

"In addition to being in good physical condition" Velma cut in, "Each dog easily has the ability to walk through enemy territory without suspicion and can find and report anything suspicious that they may find. Additionally, they can easily eavesdrop on conversations."

"Huh" General Wimbley grunted. "What about those fancy glasses of theirs? They kinda stick out a bit."

"Uh, glasses?" Dumm asked with a blank look, "What glasses?"

"Correct" Velma stated easily. "Which is why the obvious nodes can be removed, and the others can be hidden by their fur."

"Good, very good." General Neidermeyer stated. "And what about combat effectivity?"

Had they not been staring at Velma, they would have seen all of the dogs (sans Scrappy) and Shaggy flinch at that question, while Velma didn't even twitch.

"Beyond that of a regular Great Dane, they are able to show increased tactics as expected from their increased IQ. Additionally, each has shown physical capabilities that are off the charts when the occasion demands it, far exceeding anything a normal dog could accomplish. However, experiments of that nature have not been fully conducted. We will need to conduct more extensive testing before a firm conclusion can be given." She said with a straight face, which both Generals accepted with a frown.

The Generals stayed for several minutes longer, conversing with each of the dogs and asking several more questions regarding their capabilities, before another scientist walked into the lab. Middle aged with short, dark curly hair and wearing a lab coat. He walked up to the General's with an eager smile. "Good evening" He said brightly, "My name is Dr. Mondavarious. Professor Kaufman asked me to walk you through some of my tests next, if you are done here?"

A few minutes later, and the generals left, with the group sighing in relief.

"Like, thanks Velms for the save back there." Shaggy stated, grinning at her, and Dee walked over and brushed against her fondly.

Never breaking from her professional look, she nodded at Shaggy. Though she hated his butchering of the English language, and his lackadaisical attitude in general, she could never deny his faithfulness to his dogs.

"I told you before" she said calmly. "My experiment, my responsibility. And I intend to do my best to take responsibility."

With that, she walked off, feeling more nervous than she let on. She hadn't to the generals... Not really, anyways.

The truth was, despite the amazing success that she had achieved with these dogs, they would be considered a failure in the eyes of the military. While having spies behind enemy lines was always nice, she knew that what they really wanted was superior combatants in the field capable of following orders.

One of the hurdles that they would come across was in the physical capabilities. She wasn't lying when she said that some of the results of the tests were off the charts. The problem was in the occasions in which they were exhibited.

Surprisingly it was Dumm that first showed what they could do. Usually the laziest out of them, Shaggy had been attempting to get him to do something to work out. After failing, he did something to scare Dumm awake.

It took a while for her to explain to her superiors why there was a dog shaped hole in the steel door.

Scooby Doo and Dumm were the most similar in this regard. After some experiments, it was discovered that both could perform at a much higher level when they were frightened, or when they were going after food. Scrappy, however, soon showed that he could perform with this "boost" when he was excited. While he was able to demonstrate it most often, it was always in smaller bursts. Dee had yet to show such capabilities, but she was also the most intellectual out of all of the dogs.

While this sounded promising, further testing had shown that this "boost" failed to exhibit itself in any of the combat simulations. Which actually led into the next, and main, issue she had discovered.

When she was first given this assignment, she hadn't considered all of the ramifications behind that. She had worked with Mr. Rogers with these dogs and watched as their intelligence grew. At some point, she came to the realization that their intelligence was... Like a human. Which sounds odd, since that is what they were going for. The problem was that they now had opinions.

And none of them wanted to fight.

_Well, _she thought to herself. _Scrappy is always down for a fight,_ _but even then, he has no desire to kill._

Their trainer, Mr. Rogers, wasn't even the one that inspired this attitude in them, it was something that they had already believed when their intelligence was elevated.

To experiment on them further would be like experimenting on a human. To force them into that lifestyle would be like slavery.

If the generals had been aware of that, then they would demand that the subjects be scrapped, and the experiments started over with different animals. It didn't matter how amazing it was that they accomplished what they had, or the implications. The Agency was part of the government, and they had started Project Elevation with a specific purpose. They wouldn't fund any money to take care of the dogs if it wasn't in line with that purpose, and the advancements made were too confidential to just let the dogs go. They would see termination as the only solution.

She would not allow that.

She was often called a robot by her peers. Emotionless. But that was far from the truth - she just hid them better, and preferred to think logically.

The dogs were her responsibility more than they were Mr. Rogers. It was her that gave them intelligence. And as she said to Mr. Rogers, she would take responsibility of that as best as she could. Being emotional about this wouldn't solve the problem. She needed to think of a way to get the government to see the value that the dogs presented.

She finally made it to her office, closing the door and logging into her computer.

Unfortunately, it would not be easy to help them.

Especially with some of the other projects that were going on within the Agency.

She shuddered.

Experiments of highly questionable natures were happening in some of the other labs. Some actually involving human experimentation. Deplorable perhaps, and stepping over lines that she would never cross nor condone, but they were getting results.

She opened up her emails quickly as she continued to think about the problem, going through various schemes in her mind. Absently, she started deleting a few ads that had managed to make it through, ignoring the majority of them.

Her eyes passed over one in particular before deleting it. It was one that had been making the rounds lately. While she didn't know much about them, she could admire their persistence.

_**Jones & Blake Investigations**_

_**Investigative Journalists**  
Daphne Blake & Fred Jones  
_

* * *

**County Museum**

The halls of the museum were empty, the moonlight filtering through the windows and throwing shadows on all of the items on display. In the office of the curator, a short, balding man with round glasses rubbed his temples in agitation, attempting to get rid of the headache that had started to grow after receiving some bad news.

He stared at his computer and ran through various situations in his head, trying to think of the best path to take, when a cough behind him caused him to jump out of his chair in shock. Spinning around, he sees a familiar figure, and glares at the masked newcomer in annoyance.

The figure smirked at the startled man, "Good evening, Mr. Wickles" he said, eyes glittering behind the mask. "Long time no see. How's the art business been?"

* * *

**Unknown Parking Lot  
Previous Conversation  
**

...

_The figure raised his hands in surrender, "Relax my friend, I merely ask just in case. One can't be too careful, wouldn't you agree?"_

_Bill relaxed a little bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right" he admitted reluctantly. "Well...the serum acts weird to humans. It's not exactly permanent, see? Eric made it by accident, his goal focused more on recreating a super soldier serum. He used data gained from several of the other Projects, like Project Elevation and Project Eden. With animals, it creates a more monstrous version of said animal." He licked his lips, eyes darting from side to side. "On humans though? Our minds our substantially different. Eric's not sure how it happens - the results we're seeing are a mess. But see, it messes with a persons minds a little bit. It latches onto something important in their mind, and enlarges that desire. Then, the persons body goes through a lot of changes, similar to if it was done with an animal, but the end results were extremely varied. The best way to classify them would be to call them monsters." _

_Bill flinched, thinking about what happened to some of the subjects. "But, see, instead of them becoming a monster permanently like the animals would, they change into it periodically, with the focus being something that the human part desired." He explained. "So if you really wanted money, or jewelry, then when you changed into the monster version, that would become your obsession and you might go commit robberies. The monster form will actually change to suit the obsession. It would be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type thing. Whether or not the subject remembered what happened while transformed seems to vary from person to person."_

_"Hmmm" the figure hummed thoughtfully. "That sounds... Interesting."_

_"Well, uh, I guess" Bill said uncertainly, "B-But it seriously screws with your head man. A-and remember!" he said quickly, "I do have stuff on you as well, so if you try to change the terms of our deal, then I can cause a lot of trouble for you!"_

_"Hehehe, don't worry Bill" the figured said easily, "I am fully aware of our current standing with one another." He stood up and put on his hat. "I better be off. It's been a pleasure as usual. And stop worrying about me, and just worry about carrying out your part of the bargain." Bill licked his lips and nodded uncertainly._

_And with that, both the figure and Bill separated, going into their respective cars. A few moments later, and both cars drove off._

_The moon hung in the sky and the crickets chirped merrily. The world at large not realizing the sudden changes about to happen._

* * *

_**Authors Notes:**_

_**Hey there! This will be the second story that I have started posting on this site. I had this idea bouncing around my head the other day and wanted to get it out. Please let me know what you guys think of it, and if you have any recommendations. The next chapter will be about Daphne and Fred. **_

_**I'm not sure how frequent I will post chapter to this story - I would actually like to still focus on my other story, but I don't want to leave this one in the dust. Unfortunately, I only have so many hours to work on writing, and having a job does take precedence to this hobby. Anyways, I'll do by best and see what happens. **_

_**Hopefully everybody enjoyed reading this, and I'd like to thank the three sisters of mine who helped beta read this chapter and provided insight and thoughts :) **_


	2. A New Beginning - Part 2

**County Museum**

Mr. Wickles glared at the masked intruder, "Must you always sneak in like that?" He snapped in irritation before settling back down in his chair.

The masked figure gave a small laugh, "What? And deprive myself of seeing a friend of mine surprised? Surely you jest, Jeremiah!"

"Oh, so I'm a friend now, am I?" Mr. Wickles muttered, looking back at his computer. "So as a friend, do you intend to share your name this time?"

The figure placed his hand over his heart and gave a gasp, "Come now, that's MUCH to forward!" before dissolving into small laughs once more. "Besides, I was the one that assisted you in laying the groundwork for your forgery business" he stated once he got his laughter under control.

Mr. Wickles gave a brief nod. "Yes, but you hardly did that out of the kindness of your own heart. I seem to recall a good percentage of the profits going to you", giving the man a look, only to see the other man shrug.

"The road to life is hardly a free venture." He stated in a sage voice. He then looked at the computer screen that Wickles was looking at. "So what is it that has you in such a twist, hmmmm?"

"_*sigh*_ I suppose you'll poke and prod until you find out." Mr. Wickles stated, looking tired. "The museum is receiving a visitor. An esteemed art professor, Professor Hyde White. He's coming with some artifacts to hand over to the museum, and has expressed interest in seeing the rest of the displays." He ran his hand across his head in agitation. "Somehow, I don't think the paintings will pass inspection."

"Hmm, you doubt your forgeries?" The figure said questioningly.

Mr. Wickles waved his hand back and forth, "To a degree, of course. Professor White is a highly esteemed connoisseur of the arts. As it stands, there is probably a seventy percent chance of him noticing something off."

Another shrug. "So distract him during his inspections," the figure said in a bored voice. "Or do some renovations and have the place shut down."

Mr. Wickles shook his head and gave a tired smirk. "Oh, a distraction has already been planned of course" he stated. "But renovations so last minute? Too suspicious."

He turned back to his computer and started typing something down, not noticing the figure walking close. "Even with the distraction though" he continued, "The odds that he'll think that something is off is quite high I believe. Sadly, the only thing that I think I can do is just wait and se-!" All of a sudden, he felt a prick on his neck, and he quickly spun around to see the figure put his hands in the air.

"Woah there!" He said quickly, "That was a decent sized mosquito there! You alright?"

Keeping an eye on the figure, he quickly felt the area and felt a bump where the sting had been. "Yes," he said slowly, not taking his eyes off of the man. "I believe so." The man continued to stare at him, and Mr. Wickles felt that something was off. He stood up and slowly started walking to the door as the feeling grew. "I'm afraid it's getting late," he said slowly. "I must get some rest and think on this issue. Maybe an idea will come to me after a good night's rest."

The figure nodded at his words, still watching him carefully. "Yes" he said, "I'm sure everything will become clear after that."

He watched as Mr. Wickles all of a suddenly stumbled, reaching out to grab the wall.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked in a concerned voice

"Yes!" Mr. Wickles gasped, "I'm... quite sure... that I am... fine..." Before suddenly collapsing on the ground.

The figure calmly walked over to him and picked him up, putting him on the couch. Already he could hear the sound of bones starting to scrape together. He walked to the office chair and waited. "Yes, Mr. Wickles" he said. "I'm sure that everything will seem much clearer after a good nights rest..."

The unconscious form of Mr. Wickles groaned in discomfort, even while knocked out, as changes started happening within his body.

* * *

**Shooting Range**

***BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!***

Fred looked up from his physics book and listened to the shots for a little bit before looking back down. He could usually tell how well one of Daphne's dates went by the intensity of her shots. Based on what he's hearing now? … Eh, this one had probably been moderately disappointing for her.

***BANG!**BANG!* … **_*tintintin* *clack* **... *BANG!***_

_Of course, it probably hasn't helped that we haven't been able to find a good story to report for a couple weeks,_ Fred thought to himself with a frown. But then, that's just how it went sometimes for investigative journalists. They always had numerous tips to follow up on, but nineteen times out of twenty they wouldn't lead to anything, which only increased their frustration.

After a bit of silence, Daphne walked out of the range with her gun in its case. Fred glanced at her questioningly, which caused her to sigh at him. "Yes Fred," she said in exasperation, "I'm alright and feel much better. Now c'mon." and started walking out. Fred silently put away his book and walked after her.

"So," he said to open the conversation, "What did this last guy do?"

She groaned as they made their way to their car. "Well, the date actually went pretty well." She said in annoyance. "He was a perfect gentleman and we went out to that fancy Italian place. But then I got a return call from that one secretary from that tip the other day and I had to answer it."

Fred nodded slowly, "Ok, but you told Brick that that might happen, right?"

"Of course I did," she grumbled. "And the conversation with her wasn't even that long. She wanted to talk later that evening though, and I said it should be doable." They reached the sedan and got in and she continued, "He was irritated at first, and I figured 'hey, this is what happens in our occupation. He better get used to it if he wants to date me'." Fred gives out a snort at that. "Anyway, after that he seemed much less interested in the date and was distracted all evening. See, it turns out that because he went through all the trouble of paying for the date, he thought he would get 'lucky' that evening." she finished, putting air quotes around "lucky".

Fred couldn't help but laugh at that, internally cringing at the idiot. Daphne glared at him and gave him a smack, "Hey! It's not that funny..." She muttered.

Fred slowly calmed down, "Oh, I know. I just think that he really doesn't know you that well if he thought that." he said with a sheepish grin. "How is it you manage to find all the weirdo's around here to date?"

Daphne shut her eyes and grumbled in irritation after that till they reached their office.

They had a small office - just a few rooms. Enough for a waiting room, a room for their desks and workspace, and a third that was denoted as a "thinking" room that had a collection of the tips that they were following up on.

As they walked in Daphne looked lost in thought for a second.

"You know, we didn't ever send Red a thank you note for helping us in our last case..." she said in a teasing voice. "What do you think we should get?"

Fred stiffened and let out a groan. "Uh, why do we have to give him anything?" He said in an irritated voice. "He helped us on accident!"

"Are you sure?" She asked with a small smile, "I mean, he told us that the group of guys were holing up in that warehouse, and it WAS true."

"Yes" He said slowly, trying to make her see reason, "And the reason he told us that was because he thought they were hiding on the other side of town! C'mon Daph, it's in his name - "Red Herring!" And that's what he was trying to do, send us to chase down a red herring!"

Daphne shrugged at him. "That doesn't change the fact that we couldn't have found them without his help. And besides" Her smile changed into something a little more evil, "Just imagine how he'll feel about getting a thank you note from his rival thanking him for his mistake?"

Fred paused at that, thinking for a second before coming to a conclusion. "Maybe we should drop by the store and buy some cookies for him as well," he said, looking very thoughtful now, which caused Daphne to snicker quietly.

Red Herring was the neighborhood bully when they were younger. Growing up, he always seemed to enjoy picking on everybody, especially Fred. Because of that, whenever an accident would happen, Fred would end up blaming Red for it.

They actually had Red to blame for their career choice. When they were in highschool there had been an incident were several bikes had had pieces stolen from them, and one of their mutual friends had gotten hurt before they realized their bike was missing pieces. Fred had thought it was Red Herring who had done it and wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. Daphne hadn't thought it was Red, but she also wanted to ensure that it didn't happen again, so she joined him.

It took them a week of questioning other students and following clues, but they soon tracked it down to a group of bullies from a rival school that was trying to cause problems (Not Red Herring, to Fred's dissappointment). They presented their evidence to the principal, and the students in question were punished appropriately. They were even able to submit their work as a project for one of their classes and received an A for the work they had done.

They became closer as friends through this investigation, and stuck together even through college. They found they both enjoyed the investigative work quite a bit, and after discussing their various options, they decided to become detectives (which eventually turned into investigative journalists).

It wasn't as glamourous as the movies made it, and most days it was downright tedious. The majority of their work involved following up on tips to find jobs, trying to get in contact with people that didn't want to talk, and finding and looking through records. (sooo many records, Fred shuddered at the thought.). Despite this, they were both happy with their decision.

After making it back to their office, the two of them went to their desks and started looking through the tips that they had either received or compiled, slowly putting the various tips in a "rejected" pile, or "maybe" pile.

* * *

**County Museum**

The figure stared in fascination and shock at the sight before him.

_I remember what Bill said about the formula _He thought, _But I didn't expect... This!_

Bill had said that humans injected with the serum would turn into "monsters". However, he had been rather lax on the details surrounding HOW monstrous, and the extent of the changes.

This was... Pretty extensive.

The being on the couch no longer looked like Mr. Wickles. It had gained a full foot and a half in height at least, and after the initial surge in height a sheen could be seen across the skin. After a bit of time, the sheen seemed to solidify and grow further, developing into a hard, metallic exoskeleton across the entire body. The man was actually grateful for this - as much as he desired to see the process, he really didn't want to see Mr. Wickles naked, as his clothes had been ripped by both his sudden growth and the development of the exoskeleton.

This of course wasn't what surprised him. The aesthetics of the exoskeleton, however, did.

_Just... How? And why? Bill did say that the serum affects the brain, but why would it choose this form to replicate? And the details... The grille on the helmet, the look of the joints, even the plume... These don't serve any purpose except for how it looks..._

These thoughts and more ran through his head as he stared at the form of a medieval knight laying on a couch. If he looked close enough, he could see that there weren't any screws or fasteners on the various "pieces" of the armor. He shifted and tried to get a better angle to see if he could look through the grille when suddenly a pair of yellow eyes appeared and glared at him.

He dodged the following kick by a hair.

The figure quickly put himself into a crouch a small distance from the knight, preparing to either fight or run if needed.

However, the newly knighted man didn't bother attacking right away. Instead, he slowly stood up amongst a clang of metal on metal and slowly stretched, causing loud pops to fill the room.

After a few seconds, the figure called out, "Jeremiah? Are you alright?"

The knight stopped his stretches long enough to give the figure a small growl before continuing stretching his new muscles.

Emboldened by the lack of hostility, he continued "I must say, you look quite different Jeremiah, what's your secret, eh?" he chuckled.

He nearly jumped out of his clothes when the knight actually answered back.

**"Why ask?" **He questioned **"I am sure that thou had something to do with this." **

The figure smirked, careful to stay out of range. "Perhaps" he said "Does that change anything?"

The knight was silent for a while before he turned and headed for the door. **"It matters not."** He stated. **"Thou came to do this, and now thou hast. Thus, thou mayest leave my kingdom." **

The figure couldn't help but look on in surprise for a second before responding. "You... don't want to attack me?" He said disbelievingly "And where are you going?"

The knight barely slowed as he opened the door and left. **"Attacking thou would hardly do anything, wouldst it?"** He stated, ignoring how the figure went very still at that. **"As for what I am doing?"** He paused briefly and looked at the figure. **"Somebody cometh that threatens MY kingdom."** He growled. **"And I shall remove all such threats."**

The figure jerked back into action quickly and started following the knight, "My my Jeremiah" he said, regaining his teasing tone, "You seem so much more vindictive than before." While internally, his thoughts were racing. _Dang it, he's more perceptive like this. Also, what the heck is with him talking like that? I mean, it matches the getup, but just how much did the serum change in him? And is his kingdom the museum, or his business? Gah, so many questions!_

A low laugh came out that seemed to chill the air around the both of them. **"My name is not Jeremiah, fool"** he stated, **"Thou mayest call me the Black Knight." **

And with that he left the museum and went off into the darkness.

* * *

**On the Road**

"I hate the night shift" Stanley moaned as the three of them drove to the museum.

In the car there was himself, Robinson, and Professor White. Robinson and himself had been chosen to assist the Professor in relocating some of the items from England to a museum in the States. While normally a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, Stanley had been in the car for hours now, and he was BORED.

The Professor gave a small laugh and glanced at him before returning his eyes to the road. "Just relax" he said. "We only have 30 more minutes to get to the museum. After we reload, we'll go straight to the hotel, ok?"

Stanley just moaned his assent and tried to close his eyes to get a quick nap in. It was only when Robinson suddenly spoke up that he opened them again. "Hey, what's that idiot doing?!"

Looking at the road, Stanley could see someone in what appeared to be knight's armor standing in the middle of the road, and he couldn't help but give a chuckle. "Maybe he got lost on his way to a Renaissance Fair?" He suggested.

Professor White slowly stopped the car, and the knight walked up to the car. Rolling down the window, the Professor called out "Excuse me, can we assist you in - !?"

Stanley could only watch in shock as the knight's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the Professor, forcing him out through the window, his seatbelt snapping from the force. Both Robinson and Stanley were frozen in shock when they heard the sound of metal slamming against skin, followed by a thump.

Robinson recovered first and immediately jumped into the driver's seat and slammed on the gas. Before the car could move though, the door was ripped off, and the knight then grabbed him and he was dragged out with a scream.

Stanley didn't wait after that. He opened his door and ran for it. He had no idea where he was, but he didn't care so long as he could get away from... THAT!

_What the heck! What's going on! We're just simple movers for crying out loud! _He thought frantically as he tried to get his phone out of his pocket while running. He redoubled his efforts when he heard the sound of metal clanging behind him.

_HOW IS HE CATCHING UP TO ME?! HE'S IN ARMOR!_

He managed to get the phone out while not tripping and barely managed to press 911 before a hand slammed down on his shoulder and spun him around.

The last thing he saw was a fist heading for his face.

* * *

**Jones & Blake Investigations **

As Fred was looking through some recent news stories, one stood out to him.

_Three people were found in critical condition just off of Jameson and Moonlight Blvd. With the exception of the mangled door, the vehicle was left undamaged, and the goods were untouched. The victims were on their way to the County Museum to deliver multiple artifacts for a new exhibit. Police and doctors have stated that it appears all of the victims were hit repeatedly by somebody wearing metal gloves. One of the victims, Professor Hyde White, is currently in a coma, while Robinson McDaniel and Stanley Schmuck are said to make full recoveries soon. Police have asked that if anybody has any information about this attack to please contact them at ***-***-****. _

He looked at the story thoughtfully for a second before putting it in his "maybe" pile. The attack had happened a little ways away, but the method of attack was unusual. Also, to rip the door off the vehicle? That took quite a bit of strength. And for nothing to be stolen from the vehicle like that? The news report also implied that the victims still had their wallets... That was enough to pique his interest.

And with that he continued looking through various news stories for more ideas to put in the pile.

_**Authors Notes:**_

_**Now the full gang has been introduced, as well as the first villain. What does everybody think? **_

_**Also, I'd like to thank the person that wrote a review for this story :) It was a guest review, so I don't know who you are, but you do, so I'd like to thank you for giving this story a chance and for the encouragement. **_

_**And lastly, I'd like to thank three of my sisters for helping beta read this chapter, I really appreciate their help. **_


	3. The problem, and a solution

_He gazed through the halls of his kingdom, the treasures throughout the ages on display._

_Armor and Weapons, worn by compatriots from the Medieval Ages. _

_Sarcophagi plundered from the shifting sands of Egypt._

_Tribal jewelry taken from the savage tribes of Africa._

_Artillery and modern weapons from World War 2._

_He was the master and overseer. The masses could view his treasures because of HIS will and benevolence. _

_And somebody had threatened this kingdom by their very presence._

_How dare they?_

_How._

_**Dare.**_

_**They!**_

_This insult would not stand. NOTHING would threaten his kingdom! That which he had spent most of his life working for!_

_He used to be weak, but now with his strength he would ensure his kingdom would survive. _

_He was the —-— —-—_

Jeremiah Wickles jolted awake and immediately groaned in pain, his mind unable to think of anything beyond the pains ripping through his muscles.

_What happened? _He desperately thought, his mind desperately trying to come up with a reason for feeling like this.

Last thing he remembered was… _a pain in his neck - a figure raising his hands in surrender - the headlights of a truck?_

The broker… Technically they had known each other for years, but he had never been given a name. While he didn't trust the man, he trusted that he was useful to him.

Though that belief was now being put to the test…

With a groan, he slowly made his way out of his bed. His muscles, his skin, his bones, even his EYES were hurting. What on earth happened?

As he shuffled his way to his kitchen, he spotted a note on the kitchen table.

_Gotta say man, that mosquito must have had some sort of grudge against you! You were out like a light after that little sting, and you were making all these groaning sounds and such. Gave me the absolute willies, ya know?_

_Anywho, 'cause I'm such a nice guy and all, I decided to drive you back to your house. Don't worry, I didn't touch your stuff. I do have a heart somewhere you know. _

_Give me a call when you're up and about man, I wanna make sure that my good ol' friend is still amongst the living. _

_Sincerely, _

_You know who_

Mr. Wickles stared at the note suspiciously, his headache soaring to new heights.

The broker was going out of his way to be friendly… But if he had done something to him, then he was sure that the broker would have been… smarter about it.

Perhaps he was just being his usual annoying self?

Or he was bluffing.

Mr. Wickles groaned in annoyance. It was far too early to think about this, and he was in too much pain to worry about this.

* * *

_The Agency: Conference Room_

Velma sat at the conference table and looked at the other people there.

Externally, her face was as blank as ever. The very picture of a professional scientist. Internally? She was rapidly running through the various scenarios that would result in this.

After all, it wasn't every day that the top scientist and leader of the Agency, Professor Kauffman, declared an emergency meeting between all department heads.

To her right was the Golden Trio of Robotics and Nanotechnology- Doctor Jenkins, Professor Pomfritt, and Mr. Marino. Beyond them she could see Gibby Norton, head of the stealth unit program, smiling at her flirtatious and trying to catch her eye.

It wasn't very hard for her eye to avoid being caught, thankfully.

Burr Batson, head of the experimental automotive department, was dressed even more casually than Mr. Rogers usually did, and she had to fight not to grimace at the sight of him leaning back with his feet on the table. It was a testament to how valued his contributions were that he was able to remain with the company unfortunately.

Tessie and Janet Lawrence were heads of the Extraterrestrial Investigation division, and Dr. Mondavarious was the head of Human Behavioral Modifications. His counterparts, Doctors Henry and Honey Hunsucker, were the heads of Animal Behavioral Modifications.

Despite their frequent attempts, she continually blocked their efforts to get a hold of the dogs for tests and experiments. Such things would 'contaminate her own tests', and as thus were unacceptable.

The list went on. These were the brightest minds that the Organization had to offer, possibly the brightest minds in the world.

Which made it all the more concerning and rare that they were all brought together like this. They were all extremely busy people, each with their own projects and ever present deadlines to worry about. For them all to be brought together like this spoke of a matter of unusual urgency.

Unfortunately, the list of potential causes for this event were quite… Unpleasant.

Before she could think further on the subject, Professor Kaufman and his two protégés, Eric Staufer and Bill Mclemore, entered the room and sat at the head of the table and causing everybody to become silent.

Velma took a moment to analyze the three men. Eric and Bill were young for their position, especially when standing next to Professor Kaufman. While it was agreed that they were brilliant scientists, she couldn't help but note that they were absolutely terrible at hiding their expression.

Though Professor Kaufman hid it the best, all three were under a lot of stress, with Eric being the most of the three. Not that it told her much, but it did absolutely nothing to quell the worry within her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Professor himself as he coughed and glared at the crowd of scientists.

"I am afraid that I come with _grave _news, and I have no intention of delaying this or sugar coating it." He stated severely as he looked at everybody. "It has come to my attention that we have a mole in one program, possibly more."

That gained a reaction, and after only a second of silence the room erupted in protests and cries of surprise. This continued for a while, only for everybody to fall silent and flinch when the Professor slammed his hand down on the table and glared at them all.

"The proof is irrefutable." He stated coldly, "Mr. Staufer shall now give us his report on the project leaked and how we know of it."

Eric licked his lips and stood up, turning on a projector in the process. "As all of you know, Bill and I have both been working on secret projects under Professor Kaufman himself. With the evidence of the project being leaked, the decision has been made to give all project leads clearance to know the nature of these projects."

A presentation showed up on the projector, and all of the project leads stiffened at the information. Closing his eyes, Eric ploughed on, "The project that we were working on is using the information received and compiled from various projects and information compiled from all groups within the Agency."

He then stepped back and braced himself.

He didn't need to wait long.

The room erupted once more, this time in anger.

"Hey now, what in tarnation do you mean by all this?" Tessie demanded as she stood up, eyes narrowing dangerously, "You sayin' that you've been stealin' our work behind our backs?!"

"This is highly irregular!" Professor Pomfritt stated with barely concealed anger in his seat, the other two at his sides looking at a loss for words, "For you to just take our research without informing us?"

"Hey, yeah! It is!" Cut in Gibby with a rare glare on his face, "I didn't sign up for this -"

"Yes! You did, actually, 'sign up for this'." Professor Kaufman's cold voice interrupted everybody loudly and caused silence to reign once more as his glare went over everybody.

"Each and every one of you gave permission for your projects to be monitored and potentially used elsewhere when you signed the agreement forms and clearance upon being hired on." He said in a hard voice that left the department heads reeling in shock. "You may view the agreement forms after this meeting if you wish, and I shall direct you to page page 32 section 3c paragraph 4. Until then though," his gaze turned to Eric. "Please continue."

"Yes sir," The nervous man stated, turning back to the projector and moved to the next slide.

"This is Project Goblinization," he stated to the room, "As per the military's request, as many of you are aware, we have been looking into various ways to advance our military might through various methods. Originally we were looking into ways to create a super soldier of some sort. However, after several failures from multiple groups, the idea was brought up - 'Are these truly failures?'" He took a deep breath, "That is to say, many of our efforts left most of our subjects with… Heavily impacted mental states, thereby severely reducing the applicability of using such methods on our own men."

Velma's eyes narrowed dangerously as she caught onto what they were referring to.

Eric looked at each of the department heads, "Instead of simply scrapping those leads, the idea was thought of to instead develop this into a new branch to study, and create a serum that we could use on the enemy that would enhance them to the point of super soldiers but with a completely different mentality."

"We would turn select enemies into monsters." He finished calmly.

The department heads at this point seemed split, half still wanting to be angry at the theft of ideas, while the others were intrigued at the line of thinking.

Professor Kauffman cut in at this point, "Indeed. And then, through the use of nanotechnology, we would ideally be able to eliminate the target when their usefulness was resolved. This branch of research has managed to make significant progress, to the point that we have managed to develop multiple prototype serums."

His face turned grim, "It was discovered yesterday, that numerous vials of that prototype have been stolen."

Silence reigned, even amongst those that were still upset. It wasn't hard to imagine how devastating this could become - it was why security was so extreme. For somebody to manage to get out with a serum was no small feat.

"So, uh," Dr. Jekyll spoke up hesitantly, "H-how advanced was the formulae that was stolen?" _And how bad will the repercussions be? _Was the unasked question.

The professor sighed, "Enough to turn a human into a monster," he stated bluntly, "However, the results will vary depending on the human. Furthermore, our link to any nanobots is tenuous - there is no kill code. Thankfully it let out a signal when it was activated. It was brief, but we have a general area."

"O-or it might be an animal that was affected," Bill cut in, "I-if that's the case, then the effects should only last about a week. Trial tests between human and animal subjects have seen variances of extreme degrees. So it might not be as bad as all that."

He fell silent when Professor Kauffman leveled a cold look at him, and most people in the room had to suppress inappropriate chuckles at the naïveté. The professor continued "Regardless of who was at fault and whether you are upset or not, I think you can agree that it is imperative that this situation needs to be resolved." He stated, the authority in his voice gaining everybody's attention. "The military will focus on finding and acquiring the infected, whoever or whatever that might be, but considering the capabilities of the subjects we've seen, they will have their work cut out for them, especially since they are attempting to keep this from the public. If word of this gets out, the fallout would be… Dire, for both the army and the Agency. Therefore, ALL other projects and deadlines will be frozen, with each of you directing your teams to find a solution for this. Eric and Bill shall provide the subsequent notes."

Each head looked stunned, and many were angry, at that announcement, but couldn't deny the importance of said assignment.

Shortly after the meeting the department heads soon left, soon leaving the Professor sitting tiredly at the table. Looking up, he wasn't surprised at all to see one person remaining.

"And what can I do for you Dr. Dinkley?" He asked cautiously.

Dr. Velma Dinkley, brilliant scientist, whose presence was requested by no less than 7 department heads for their own teams, and desired by many more beyond that. Instead, she desired to lead her own project. Doing the bulk of the work on her own, her only staff was an intern by the name of Elliot and a dog trainer. Despite that, her project showed the most success out of all.

He felt bad when he had had to deny her request to pull her subjects out of the program.

He knew why she tried. Despite being one of the smartest scientists, Dr. Dinkley retained a set of morals that refused to let her go along with the idea of forcing sentient creatures to fight. She had started what she thought of as a safe project in order to protect her morals, only for it to directly conflict with her morals, and her success made the project too valuable to scrap.

Troublesome, but brilliant was perhaps the most apt description of her.

She looked at him from her seat with her usual neutrality. "'Page 32, section 3c, paragraph 4.'" she intoned casually, immediately putting him on edge, "Interesting choice, as that particular section is in reference to the sharing of personal information in the event of a danger on the signer's life." She arched an eyebrow at him, "And since the privacy and ownership of our ideas is specifically laid out in page 12, it certainly brings to mind much confusion Professor."

The Professor froze, and he had to force himself to relax.

"You must be mistaken, Velma," He stated in a confident tone, "Perhaps if we were to look up the contract we can resolve this?"

Just as he was about to bring it up on his own laptop Dr. Dinkley shook her head, "No, I don't think so." She stated blandly, "Especially since the online contract was altered just yesterday. At 15:32 hours." She added helpfully.

_Ok… this is recoverable… She didn't say anything while everybody was here, so she must want something_, he thought furiously. The legal documents had been written in such a way that if they had to alter the writing to word it better for their own purposes it wouldn't be realized. How she knew that they changed it, that she had apparently _memorized_ the original, and when they changed it, was problematic, but could be figured out later.

"That's… quite the claim." He said cautiously, his voice turning harder, "And IF it were true, one would say that you were in quite the precarious position."

She shrugged, "On the contrary, it IS true, and I am rather comfortable in my current position."

"After all, I have a proposal that is beneficial to both of us."

His eyes narrowed in annoyance. _Hmph, another attempt to remove those dogs from the program, _he huffed, allowing it to leak into his expression. He had numerous things to do, and if she thought that she could blackmail him into accomplishing her goals… Well, brilliant though she may be, she was NOT irreplaceable!

Ignoring, or perhaps ignorant of, his expression, she continued on, "Having looked at the preliminary data, I believe that the military is unsuitable for the task of retrieving the 'infected'." She stated, drawing him up short.

This… wasn't what he thought she would open with.

"The variance in abilities in strength appears to be quite large between _victims -," _she said with narrowed eyes, the first display of emotion he'd seen in her the entire meeting. Not that he needed it, he was well aware of her opinions. "- show that although the military might be able to take on the infected, the possibility of them doing so while keeping a low profile is slim to none."

"Which, of course, is why it will be our duty to develop an antidote." He cut in, trying to figure out where she was going with this.

She shook her head, "How long till that happens?" She questioned. "Sending more heads at this problem, regardless of how smart they may be, will require time as they are caught up to speed before any progress can be made. And even then it's not guaranteed that you can get all of them to work together."

He grunted. She was correct, and he was well aware of the weaknesses of the current plan. But what else could they do?

Seeing his frustrated look, she smiled, and the professor suppressed a shiver at the predatory look. He had never seen her make that expression before, but it was very much the look of somebody who successfully laid a trap.

"In that case," She said smoothly, "I volunteer my project."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

She leaned back in her chair, "My project." She repeated. "I have four dogs with highly increased attributes and a particular skill set. Let us in before the military, and we'll find and restrain the infected in a confidential manner."

That… wasn't a terrible idea. The dogs in her project did indeed display remarkable physical capabilities, though he had a feeling that she was hiding something about them. Regardless, their intelligence and tracking abilities would be invaluable to such a task.

Except… "You're proposing that we send one project to capture another project." He summed up wryly. "And run the risk of losing two projects?" He snorted, "Before we can run a sufficient number of tests, the only thing we know that's keeping them from running off is Mr. Rogers. Denied."

She shrugged, still looking unconcerned, which put him on guard once more. "Very well," She agreed, "I understand. Having multiple projects on the loose is rather risky overall, even if my current level of tests show that the dogs have sufficient intelligence to understand the ramifications of running away and the benefits of staying. However, I also understand that anybody that has become infected must be taken in as quickly as possible, for their own safety and the safety of everybody around them, so I shall keep the contract mishap quiet."

He stared at her, "I suppose," He said slowly, still trying to figure out where the trap was. Out of all of the scientists he employed, Velma contained the best mix of intelligence and wisdom, making her a most tricky adversary.

"I feel the need to point out, however," She continued as if he hadn't spoken, "That as I now know this, and I will be working with the other departments rather closely in the foreseeable future, there is the possibility of it slipping out."

Ah, there it was.

Velma went quiet as she looked at him with a neutral gaze once more, and he leaned back and thought carefully.

In all honesty, the dogs were perhaps the only experiment that he'd feel comfortable with letting leave the building, and he'd already acknowledged that they'd be quite useful in this hunt. So why hesitate? It would require considerable paperwork to get the permissions through, but that was manageable.

No, it was the unknown. Why was Dr. Dinkley so determined for this to happen? To the point of blackmail even, which he would never have thought she would stoop to.

While such a thing would make her more open to various projects that he would love to have her in, it made situations such as these all the more difficult.

He gave her a deadly look, "I shall think on it," He replied coldly. "Visit my office tomorrow morning to discuss this further."

Her face didn't change, but he could have sworn that he sensed a smirk behind her blank expression. "Of course sir," She agreed.

The Professor stood up and headed towards his office. He had the military to contact once more, coordination between departments, followed by looking deeper into Project Elevation.

Internally, he prayed that Bill was correct in his hopes that it was merely an animal that was infected. He might be willing to bend his morals for the sake of science and the defense of the country, but the thought of needless suffering was… Unpleasant. If this was the case, then it shouldn't be a problem for the military to subdue the infected. The Agency would still have to deal with the ramifications of the theft, but that was going to be unavoidable.

If it wasn't a random creature… He feared he would have no choice but to acquiesce to Dr. Dinkley's proposal. As such, he might as well start digging into why she made the proposal to begin with. For her to be as bold as she was, as confident as she was, she must have a plan in place, and he would not be caught unawares.

Unnoticed by him, as soon as he left the conference room Velma practically collapsed in her seat as she let go of her legendary control, shaking from the stress of acting as she had. Despite this, she managed a shaky grin before she regained control of herself.

It might have been spur of the moment, with no time to think of all the variables, but she finally had a plan.

* * *

_**Author's notes**_

_**Hey everybody! So, I know that not many people really liked this story…. But I can't help it. Scooby Doo holds a special place in my heart, so though it might not receive many likes/reviews, I shall continue to write it when I can. **_

_**I'd like to thank my brother, Autumnstar, and sisters, CaptainDarkElf, CrazedWierdo, and FluffyInsanity, for beta reading this chapter for me. **_


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